2020 Hamvention® Club of the Year
About SCARS
The South Canadian Amateur Radio Society is an American Radio Relay League (ARRL) Special Services Club in Cleveland County, Oklahoma. Our Facebook presence and weekly newsletter help develop the amateur radio community in the region, state, and beyond.
We are a group of people interested in communicating without accessing public infrastructure. SCARS members are interested in talking to our friends or family during severe weather conditions or when power or communications systems are down. Hams are typical ‘makers’ interested in building our radio communications equipment. Amateur radio provides many different project opportunities to design, create, and use our gear. We live at the intersection of computers, the Internet, and radio. New, inexpensive devices allow us to communicate with neighbors using low-power VHF or UHF systems. We can talk globally using the linked Digital Mobile Radio (DMR), D-STAR technologies, or through space, with satellite links in minutes.
If you want to get licensed, visit our “Be a Ham” web page, join our Facebook page, or visit us on Tuesday Elmer Nights.
Elmer Nights
Each Tuesday evening from 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm, about 25 hams and potential hams meet at the Norman Firehouse #7, 2207 Goddard Ave, Norman, OK, and on the SCARS Zoom channel, https://w5nor.org/zoom/. After all the holiday nonsense, we’re back on a regular “Every Tuesday Night” schedule. In amateur radio verbiage, an Elmer is a person who mentors or teaches another. This is the place to visit if you have any amateur radio questions. Feel free to bring the equipment you need help with. All are welcome; a license or membership is not required. More detailed information is on the SCARS Elmer Nights page. See you Tuesday!
October 2: Amateur Radio License Testing
SCARS offers no-cost amateur radio license test sessions on the first Thursday of the month at 6:30 p.m. at Firehouse #7, 2207 Goddard Ave, Norman, OK, 73069. The locations and time details are available on our license web page. Sign up here today, and you will be ready for the test.
Help Pass The HOA Legislation To Eliminate HOA Prohibitions on Amateur Radio Antennas!!!
HOW CAN I HELP?
By sending a letter to each of your Congressional Representatives and your Senators. Is my individual letter important? YES — Representatives and Senators rely on constituent input to decide which bills to support. Your voice counts. You don’t have to be a member of the ARRL; show your approval for these bills by visiting https://send-a-letter.org/hoa/.
BACKGROUND
The ARRL has successfully obtained Congressional support — both in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate — to introduce legislation that, if passed, will eliminate HOA/private land use restrictions prohibiting Amateur Radio operators from installing antennas at their residences.
September 13 SCARS Meeting: – Mark Kleine N5HZR – Getting on the HF Bands
Due to scheduling issues, this meeting is moved to the Moore Emergency Management Center – 301 N Broadway, Moore, OK. The online guide for this program is available at this link – https://w5nor.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/2025GetOnTheHFAir.pdf
Have you ever operated below the VHF band? As amateur radio operators, we have access to millions of frequencies in that part of the radio spectrum. Whether you are a prospective ham, a shiny new ham, or a seasoned veteran, you can get started using homebrew antennas and inexpensive transceivers to talk across town, throughout the state, or around the world. HF frequencies are available to all amateur radio licensees, no matter what class license is held.
At this meeting, Oklahoma ARRL Section Manager Mark Kleine N5HZR will ask “Why aren’t you on the air?” and then give you a plan to get on the air. We will…
- talk about listening to the bands from your computer or your phone
- talk about the different modes of operation — CW, phone, digital
- build a dipole antenna
- show how to tune a dipole antenna
- discuss all of the great things you can do on HF —
- CW fox hunts
- beacons – CW, FT8
- talk on local nets
- listen to the world
- talk to the world
- HF nets
- work special event stations
- novice roundup
- operating awards – DXCC, WAS, VUCC, WAS, WW DX, SSCW, SS SSB, IARU
- operate POTA, SOTA, IOTA
- participate in contests
- and more.
Be there to join the fun and don’t forget that you can expand on all of this at one of our Tuesday Elmer Nights.
SCARS meets on the 2nd Saturday of each month (the 3rd during April for the Green Country Hamfest) at Norman Firehouse #7, 2207 Goddard Ave, Norman, OK, and online via Zoom / YouTube / Telephone. The monthly presentation starts at 9:30 a.m. The club meeting begins at 10:30 a.m. Guests are always welcome! Join us on Saturday at 9:00 a.m. for coffee and donuts. To join Zoom, download the Zoom software and click this link at https://w5nor.org/zoom. You can enter using 893 9952 6291 password w5nor. Or, to watch the fun, click the YouTube link at https://w5nor.org/stream …
Future SCARS Meetings…
The SCARS presentation team has lined up these future presentations for 2025/2026. We’re still seeking good presentation ideas, so please suggest them to the SCARS officers.
- Oct: Patrick Reeves – KJ7SZU (Geochron)
- Nov: Mike Delaney – KB5HXT (Antenna Building)
- Dec: Rob LaFollette – N5ATG (ARES)
- Jan (2026): John Stratton – N5AUS (ARRL Update)???
Elmer Nights
Each Tuesday evening from 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm, about 25 hams and potential hams meet at the Norman Firehouse #7, 2207 Goddard Ave, Norman, OK, and on the SCARS Zoom channel, https://w5nor.org/zoom/. In amateur radio verbiage, an Elmer is a person who mentors or teaches another. This is the place to visit if you have any amateur radio questions. Feel free to bring the equipment you need help with. All are welcome; a license or membership is not required. More detailed information is on the SCARS Elmer Nights page. See you Tuesday!
Sign Up For Our Newsletter
We publish a weekly newsletter for people interested in amateur radio. Feel free to sign up today online at https://w5nor.org/email/. Membership is not required. You can view the back issues of our newsletter at https://w5nor.org/newsletter/. Each email message includes a method for stopping your participation in the list.
SCARS Dues are Due
As a reminder, SCARS membership dues start on January 1st. You can join or renew today online or through the mail at https://w5nor.org/membership/.
Tape Measure Antennas – VHF/UHF
Our first batch of 30 tape measure antennas sold out in minutes. Another batch is now available. These kits are only $20 and are available from Mark Kleine N5HZR. More information is available on the tape measure antenna page.
VHF Audio is on the Web
Are you ever out of town and want to tap into the local net back home, but your 2-meter radio can’t reach that far? Using the World Wide Web by listening to the SCARS 2-meter repeater. Do what? Yes! It’s real, and it sounds great! Give it a try by clicking here or the play button below.
National Weather Museum
The National Weather Museum & Science Center is at 1200B West Rock Creek Road, Norman, OK 73019. This facility houses the historical weather equipment developed or used to promote weather management for the nation. Here you’ll find the world’s first Doppler radar console, a T-28 Trojan Weather Research airplane, a car that survived one of the Moore tornadoes, replicas of the largest hailstones, phased radar systems, and much more.
More information is available at http://NationalWeatherMuseum.com. Make plans to come, and see you there!
Future Meeting Topics
We’re working out the 2026 presentation schedule. We’d love to have more great topics; hopefully, you can supply those ideas. Contact Rob LaFollette N5ATG, or post it on our Facebook group if you have an idea for a future meeting.
Did You Miss a Meeting?
Our monthly meeting presentations are archived on the Internet. Visit our YouTube channel to see previous events.